Opposition to dilution of gender reports

Christine Christian, the president of professional group Chief Executive Women, said the collection of robust and comprehensive data was well recognised as the best way to achieve gender balance and equal pay goals.
Photo: Arsineh Houspian

Current rules compel companies with 100 or more employees to detail, yearly, the gender make-up of their workforces and compare rates of pay between men and women.

The Coalition’s proposed changes would require only companies with 1000 or more employees to comply, and limit the scope of data collected.

The Business Council of Australia endorsed the proposal, but it has been met with opposition elsewhere.

Christine Christian
, the president of professional group Chief Executive Women, said the collection of robust and comprehensive data was well recognised as the best way to achieve gender balance and equal pay goals.

“In any business, measuring performance focuses the mind much faster than good intentions," she said.

Ms Christian added that attempts to cut red tape were welcome, but that did not mean “we stop shining a light on what needs to be done to improve gender balance and, by extension, Australia’s productivity".

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“[Our group’s] mission is enabling women to fulfil their aspirations as leaders, and that is not limited to organisations with more than 1000 staff."

Chief Executive Women is an invitation-only group made up of 300 top women from the corporate, public service, academic and not-for-profit sectors.

Beefed up reporting requirements introduced by Labor will come into full force for the first time from April 1, although Employment Minister
Eric Abetz
can make changes until then.

A partner, not a policeperson

The resources industry employer group the Australia Mines and Minerals Association said changes were needed after the former government extended reporting requirements in the wrong direction. “We want a partner, not a policeperson," said AMMA executive director for policy and public affairs
Scott Barklamb
. “We want government to work with industry to help drive change from within workplaces."

Mr Barklamb said an example of this was the Australian Women in Resources Alliance, which aims to increase women in the resources sector from 15.5 per cent to 25 per cent by 2020. An e-mentoring program linking women in remote areas to colleagues elsewhere is at the centre of the plan.

Journalist and women’s advocate
Anne Summers
, who helped bring in affirmative action legislation for the Hawke Labor government in the 1980s, said the Coalition’s attempts to weaken reporting rules represented a “very sad moment for Australian women".

“The Abbott government is doing exactly what the Howard government did, and that is to roll back the reporting requirements that would inform us of the gender composition of the workforce and allow us to track whether women’s participation and remuneration is improving," she said.

“The dilution of the ... reporting requirements will take the pressure off employers to hire and promote women and gives lie to the prime minister’s claim to want to improve women’s participation," she said.

A woman executive at one of the big four banks, who did not want to be identified as speaking against government plans, said her employer supported the agency’s expanded reporting regime.

“We think it is an important benchmark for organisations to assess their progress on gender equity and is the only true and credible industry benchmark to compare various businesses and industries," she said.

“[The Workplace Gender Equality Agency] consulted extensively with business in the design of the reporting guidelines with the intention of making the process more streamlined and simple."

The Business Council has said the reporting requirements are onerous, with 30 items to be reported against.

A source close to the agency rejected that assertion, saying much of the information required a “yes" or “no" answer and could be filled out online.

Sex Discrimination Commissioner
Elizabeth Broderick
, who has previously defended existing rules, was asked about the proposed changes during a hearing of the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee on Monday.

She said stakeholders were providing confidential feedback to the government and she did not want to comment further.